Gaming machines which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (i.e., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur usually provide higher awards.
In such known gaming machines, the amount of the wager made on the base game by the player may vary. For instance, the gaming machine enables the player to wager a minimum number of credits, such as one credit (e.g., one penny, nickel, dime, quarter or dollar) up to a maximum number of credits, such as five credits. This wager may be made by the player a single time or multiple times in a single play of the primary game. For instance, a slot game has one or more paylines and the slot game enables the player to make a wager on each payline in a single play of the primary game. Slot games with 1, 3, 5, 9, 15 and 25 lines are widely commercially available. Thus, it is known that a gaming machine, such as a slot game, enables players to make wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of the primary or base game ranging, for example, from one credit up to 125 credits (e.g., five credits on each of 25 separate paylines). This is also true for other wagering games, such as video draw poker, where players can wager one or more credits on each hand and where multiple hands can be played simultaneously. It should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wagering amounts or levels and at substantially different rates of play.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming machines. These secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Such bonus awards are accounted for when determining the overall paytable for the gaming machine. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Secondary or bonus games are often activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game of the gaming machine. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on a payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine triggers the secondary bonus game on that gaming device. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be). In other words, obtaining a bonus event and a bonus award in the bonus event is part of the enjoyment and excitement for players.
Player tracking systems are also known. Player tracking systems enable gaming establishments to recognize the value of customer loyalty through identifying frequent customers and rewarding them for their patronage. The cumulative history of a particular player's gaming activity, which is included in a player profile, enables gaming establishments to target individual players with direct marketing promotions or customized compensation plans. In existing player tracking systems, a player is issued a player identification card which has an encoded player identification number that uniquely identifies the player. Player tracking on gaming devices such as slot machines, is typically accomplished with a card reader mounted to the gaming device. When the player first sits down at a gaming device, the player inserts the card into the card reader. The card reader reads the player identification number off the player tracking card and communicates information through a network to a central computer regarding the player's subsequent gaming activity. Based on this communicated information or data, the gaming establishment classifies each player and provides one or more of such players certain benefits based on these classifications.
Subsequent systems have adapted the card reader technology to live gaming tables. Existing live gaming table tracking systems include magnetic stripe card readers mounted to the table for entering player identification information by reading the magnetic stripe cards. In certain of these systems, wagering information is entered by a pit boss using a touch screen mounted to the table. These systems require a manual data entry of the wagers, and thus do not fully automate data collection for player tracking.
Other systems have enhanced tracking systems for live gaming tables that incorporate chip identifiers and card identifiers. These technologies help to further automate the tracking process. One example is an optical chip reading technology that includes mounting a black and white charge-coupled device image sensor (“CCD sensor”) into a reading turret placed in proximity to a player's wagering area. In this system, each wagering chip includes patterns of repeated coding around the periphery of the chip. The patterns are identifiable by the CCD sensor. Therefore, the gaming system is operable to determine the amount of each wager by imaging all of the chips and associating the patterns with a chip value.
One example of a playing card identifier includes a card data reader where the card data recorded on the back of the playing card will be read by an image sensor internal to the gaming table. Another example of tracking technology includes a table monitor that automatically images the activity occurring at a gaming table. Such tracking technology makes a periodic comparison of captured images identifying player wagering, as well as the appearance, removal and position of cards and other game objects on the gaming table. Another example of tracking technology includes a multi-player station which utilizes infrared coding and/or visual recognition to identify player's wagers as well as the appearance, removal and position of cards and other game objects at the multi-player stations. Another example of chip and/or playing card tracking technology includes radio frequency identification (RFID) to track chip and/or playing card activity. Generally, the RFID is a system that uses a small electronic device that includes a small chip and an antenna. The chips and/or playing cards are scanned to retrieve the identifying information. Accordingly, such chip and/or playing card tracking systems enable the casino to automatically track playing cards dealt to a player and wagering patterns, and store the information into memory.
Gaming establishment or casino loyalty programs are also well known. A casino loyalty programs works in conjunction with a player tracking system to offer incentives to players in exchange for the player's loyalty to and play history at the gaming establishment. Such loyalty incentives are often provided and funded by the gaming establishment's marketing department. These marketing department promotions are not accounted for in determining the overall paytable for the gaming machines.
One known way to provide loyalty incentives to players is by offering the player cash via a direct mailing. However, the overhead associated with such mailings is relatively expensive. Another known way to provide loyalty incentives to players is by offering access to certain specific prizes or awards, such as celebration prizes or progressive awards, which are only available to loyal players, such as players that play at certain designated minimum levels.
Another known way to provide loyalty incentives to players is by offering promotional credits (delivered as either direct mail offers or as a result of a loyalty bonus) to be utilized in one or more wagering games. Such promotional credits are often offered as a one time event such as for a player signing up for a player tracking card. It should be appreciated that providing promotional credits to a player is often preferable over providing non-promotional or cash credits to a player because known promotional credits are not immediately redeemable by a player for cash and must first be played through the gaming machine. Accordingly, gaming establishments are in need of new and exciting ways to provide awards to loyal players as part of their gaming experience.
More specifically, there is a continuing need to provide a gaming establishment with options for more types of frequent player or loyalty incentives. Such loyalty offerings should: target frequent or loyal players; be adjustable in amount and triggering frequency to meet the level of the player's loyalty (i.e., frequent or loyal players deserve more frequent or larger awards); and be viewed as a loyalty offering provided by the gaming establishment. Additionally, if possible, such loyalty offerings should: be viewed as being more valuable or enticing than promotional credits; provide a mechanism or way for the gaming establishment to know and control costs associated with awarding such loyalty bonuses.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need to provide new and different gaming machines and gaming systems as well as new and different ways to provide awards to players including loyalty awards.
There is also a continuing need to provide new and different gaming tables and gaming systems as well as new and different ways to provide awards to players, including loyalty awards, at such gaming tables.